1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device which can be removably secured without tools and without bolts, screws or other fastening means to an inner sidewall downwardly oriented edge of a pickup truck bed such that when secured thereto it serves as a means for attaching a rope or other similar device to the truck bed and when removed leaves no scratches or holes in the truck to indicate where the device was previously attached.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pickup trucks are popular vehicles because they are provided with a bed in which large objects may be placed for transport. It is often desirable to secure an object within the bed by means of ropes or other similar fastening devices in order that the object will not shift, bump, or possibly bounce out of the truck when being transported. Some pickup trucks beds are provided with stake holes located in the upper portion of the sidewalls which surround the bed on either side. Normally three such holes are provided in each sidewall with one of the stake holes located at the front end of the bed, another located at the back end of the bed, and the last one located approximately midway between the first two. These stake holes are generally the only structures provided in the bed through which a rope or similar device can be inserted in order to secure an object within the bed.
One drawback in using these stake holes to secure an object in the bed is that the stake holes are in fixed locations which are not always the optimum locations for tying an object within the bed, particularly when the object is of an odd shape or size. To address this problem, brackets may be permanently mounted to the top of the truck bed sidewalls via bolts, screws or other similar fastening means. Although these brackets can be secured at any location along the upper portion of the sidewalls, because of the way in which the brackets secure to the truck, removal of the brackets is time consuming, requires tools to accomplish, and leaves unsightly holes where the fastening means for the brackets have previously been.
The present invention addresses this problem with a tie-down device which can be secured to and removed from the inner sidewall downwardly oriented edge of a truck bed without the need for tools. The device can be positioned anywhere along the inner sidewall downwardly oriented edge of the truck bed and when removed from the truck bed, leaves no scratches or unsightly holes to indicate the device has been attached to the truck. Because of the manner in which the tie-down device secures to the truck bed, when in use, it is unlikely that the tie-down device will work loose or be dislodged from the truck bed.